Swaddling Clothes And Mangers

These weekly devotionals I will be posting come from and are copyright to Pam Iannello, my pastor's late wife who went home to be with the Lord on June 18, 2008.

This is starting "The Wonder of It All" series. What better way to start a new series close to Christmas than with the Christmas story. If you've ever wrestled with God's plan for your life, this series is for you! Based on the book of Luke and the lives of Zacharias, Elisabeth, Mary & Joseph.



This devotion is part of the "The Wonder Of It All" series.

I had breakfast with the shepherds today and I was so blessed by their enthusiasm, that I thought I'd pass some along to you.... God's people can always use a good dose of enthusiasm, amen? We'll be reading about the Christmas story today in Luke 2:8-20. This story is old, but it is ever new; and God's people ought to never tire of reading it, for it grants us special glimpses into the early years of our Lord Jesus Christ...

Luke 2:8 (KJV)
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.


Notice the time and place the angel of the Lord appears unto the shepherds - at night, in the field. This is certainly an interesting setting, an unusual place and an unusual time for an angel to show up! It was also an unusual group of people to whom the angel appeared –shepherds…. These shepherds were "nobodies" as far as the world was concerned; just your average, hard working, blue collar man. They didn't work in the big city, seated behind a desk in an impressive office building making corporate decisions all day long, they spent time watching over their flocks in the field. They weren't dressed in tailored suits and ties and they didn't wear the latest designer fragrances, these guys smelled like sheep! Nobody wanted them around. They were considered outcasts. Their work kept them in the fields and away from the temple for weeks at a time, so city-folk viewed them as ceremonially unclean. Shepherds were so disdained they weren't even allowed to speak in the courtroom back then. Yet an angel from heaven was sent to speak to them! As a matter of fact, the angel came and spoke to them on the job, right in the middle of their smelly work while they were wearing their smelly clothes…

Luke 2:9-10 (KJV)
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Here, in a field, in the middle of the night, while the rest of the world around them was dulled with slumber, the shepherd’s senses were razor-sharp. They were ardently working, carrying out their nightly duty of overseeing their flocks. Their eyes and ears were open to the possibility of an enemy creeping in on their sheep. Hence, they were wide-awake and extremely alert! They weren't dozing, not drifting off to sleep while leaning against a tree, but keenly tuned in to their surroundings. There was no such possibility of them dreaming that moment the angel of the Lord came face to face with them! Nobody could say this was a figment of their sleepy imaginations, for they were keeping watch. The glory of the Lord shone round about this group of outcasts.... Isn't that just like our God, ladies? (How do you treat people that are labeled unimportant?) What the shepherds saw that night was very real and they were listening quite intently to what the angel was telling them...

Two things stood out to me in the above verses that I think stood out to the shepherds as well. First of all, the angel calmed their fears and then said, "I bring YOU…". He let them know from the beginning that he had a private announcement just for them! At God's instruction, the heavenly messenger placed significance on this group of men that the world considered "nobodies". Afterward the angel said, "…which shall be to ALL people." Hence, we learn that nobody else had yet received this news... Others would eventually hear, but not by the mouths of the angels. Only the lowly shepherds were to be informed of Jesus birth in this unique manner. I like that! I like when the Lord uses the weak things of the world to confound the wise, don't you? That gives me hope! The Lord could have chosen the priests or scribes to first receive the greatest announcement the world would ever hear, but He chose anonymous shepherds....

Luke 2:11-12 (KJV)
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Do you know what I realized as I read this passage of scripture? The strange place to which the Lord had led Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus, that lowly manger scene, was to be a sign to these shepherds of the validity of the Word of God!!! While considering the stable where Mary had to give birth to Jesus, one would think that God had forsaken them on their journey of faith. But NOW we see that what looked like it may have been a strange plan earlier had happened on purpose. It was designed to be a sign to the shepherds that what God was telling them by His angel was true! Yes, the swaddling clothes and the manger were specific signs they were to watch for to encourage their faith in the Lord.

Matthew 11:25 (KJV)
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

Ladies, when the workings of God seem strange in your life, hang on! Don't give up! In His perfect timing, the Lord will attach purpose to your difficult circumstances and you will soon realize His designs upon your life will likewise be signs to others of the soundness of the Word of God. As you yield in humility to God's plan, your testimony will support that He alone is worthy of our total faith. Your life will be a sign that He is a God of truth! If you resist or alter God's design, you are in effect covering the hand of the Lord in your life and hiding Him from others sight!

Think about it this way... Suppose Mary did not like the fact that Jesus had to be born in a manger. Suppose she wanted something better for her child and went out and charged a beautiful cradle and some fancy baby clothes for Jesus. Then suppose she stayed at the local Bed & Breakfast that night paying good money for a room that was already reserved for someone else so they could be warm and comfortable. Where would the signs be for the shepherds if she resisted God's hand upon her life that night?? At the angel's instruction, the shepherds would search for the Savior knowing they had found Him, by the signs of the swaddling clothes and the manger. If Mary had piously refused these lowly provisions, they would not be able to locate the Savior! Thus, their faith in God's Word would be hindered...

2 Cor. 4:3 (KJV)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost..

I wonder how many signs of faith the Lord has desired to place in our lives for the sake of drawing others to Him, yet we have resisted His plan and kept those signs from being clearly seen? Ladies, God wants to work through us to lead outcasts to His feet, but how willing are we to accept swaddling clothes and mangers in our lives?? We want something more glorious and elaborate than such common items, something prettier and fancier and more impressive for our children and us. "Don't give us swaddling clothes and mangers, Lord, anything but those unappealing, old things!" Understand ladies, that as we resist showing signs of humility and dependency upon the Lord in our lives, we block the pathway to the Savior for people that God loves and cares about...

Matthew 25:45 (KJV)
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

I wonder how many times the Lord has wanted to place uncertainties, difficulties, strange providences, surprises etc. into our lives and instead we have taken matters into our own hands and thereby prevented any signs of faith in God to be viewed by folk that so desperately need to find the Savior! Is He nowhere to be found, even in the life of the Christian today?! In your pride, have you been resisting swaddling clothes and mangers in your life? Have you refused to die to your own desires in order to carry out God’s? If you have, you have hidden your Savior from someone's searching eyes....

Luke 2:13-14 (KJV)
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

After the angel of the Lord shared with these shepherds the unique birth announcement of the Savior, the Bible says there joined him a MULTITUDE of the heavenly host praising God! Those shepherds, those "nobodies" got a glimpse of heaven the moment they heard about Jesus! They had an opportunity that you and I won't have till we get to heaven! Our ears have not yet heard a multitude of angels praising God and saying "Glory!" Imagine such a magnificent experience happening to you right there in the dark of night, in the middle of that smelly field of sheep, in your little corner of the world! And yet, when we share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, they too, can get a glimpse of heaven. They will understand that the possibility of spending eternity with the Savior is theirs as well as anybody else’s! It doesn't matter how smelly or dirty their sin has caused them to be, they can have the same opportunity as did the lowly shepherds!

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Yes, God selected humble, hard-working men to be the first witnesses that His Son had come into the world... I know you're not a man, but are you humble and hard-working?? Can God depend upon you to share the news of the birth of the Savior with others? Will you go to a "nobody" that might be a bit smelly from sin and bring them the news that God has sent a Savior to meet their greatest need? Are you faithful with this good news, these glad tidings of great joy? Are there humble signs of swaddling clothes and mangers in your life so that when the world searches for the Savior they can find Him through you? Humility clarifies our dependence upon God. Do you appear as one who is fully reliant upon the Lord or are you showing greater signs of self-sufficiency? How clear is it that you are even a Christian?? Telling others about Christ is a solemn obligation as well as a great privilege, and we who are believers must be faithful with God's message! Next lesson we will look at what the shepherds did with the good news after it was given to them. But for now, explore your heart and see what YOU are doing with it!

God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2003 Meet Ms. Pam

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